Web feed



Se t. 20, 1966 B. H. WALLACE WEB FEED 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1963 ON wm INVENTOR BERT HAROLD WALLACE ATTORNEY m I I m- 20, 1966 B. H. WALLACE 3,273,1a

WEB FEED Filed Aug. 29, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheec 2 INVENTOR BERT HAROLD WALLACE ATTORNEY Sept. 20, 1966 B. H. WALLACE 3,273,818

WEB FEED Filed Aug. 29, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet I5 58 INVENTOR BERT HAROLD WALLACE BY&

ATTORNEY P 20, 1966 B. H. WALLACE 3,273,818

WEB FEED Filed Aug. 29, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

I f. -o T m/T- i H I j L II I, 1; l 20/ 58 6 II F-/76 L 68 INVENTOR BERT HAROLD WALLACE ATTORNEY WEB FEED 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 29, 1963 NNN C0 INVENTOR BERT HAROLD WALLACE ATTORNEY Sept. 20, 1966 B. H. WALLACE 3,273,818

WEB'FEED Filed Aug. 29, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent 3,273,818 WEB FEED Bert Harold Wallace, Uniondale, N.Y., assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Aug. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 305,350 3 Claims. (Cl. 24275.43)

This invention is an improved web feed machine for feeding a web of material from a reel to a station intermittently.

Particularly the invention is an improved machine for feeding reconstituted tobacco material from a reel to a station where a cigar binder or a cigar wrapper is to be cutfrom the tobacco material.

An object of the invention is the improvement of mechanism for feeding material from a source thereof mounted on a reel.

Another object of the invention is an arrangement which maintains a substantially uniform and constant tension on each unit of transverse cross sectional area of the web, as the web is drawn off the reel, while the diameter of the material changes due to the withdrawal. This object is achieved by varying the tension applied to the web by means of a spring the tension of which varies in proportion substantially equal to the reduction of the inertia of the reel carrying the material, as the quantity of material on the reel is reduced by withdrawal. The varying tension is app-lied to the web by means of a tension roller, known in the art as, and at times hereinafter termed, a dancer roller. A feeler on the cylindrical surface of the web senses the reduction in web diameter and controls the tension on the spring.

In the present invention, the web material is fed over the dancer roller, between a pair of coacting feed rollers which engage the web frictionally and draw it off the reel.

It was found that in certain of the web feeds presently employed in the industry, there is a certain amount of tearing and wrinkling of the web. Because of the drive mechanism employed it was found that the initial acceleration of the web reel was inordinately high, many times as high as the normal acceleration applied thereafter and that this high acceleration during the first part of the indexing motion caused the wrinkling and tearing.

The acceleration and deceleration of the feed rollers is controlled by a special cam, in the present invention, to tend to minimize the tearing and wrinkling.

In machines employed for feeding web material which has relatively low tensile strength and relatively small cross sectional area, the total magnitude of the stress which may be applied to the web must be relatively small, if the elastic limit of the material is not to be exceeded and if permanent strain, or stretch, of the material is to be avoided.

The tensile strength of reconstituted tobacco web, for instance, is relatively low, and the web is relatively thin, approximately 0.003 inch, so that the transverse cross sectional areas of the webs used in the industry and the maximum withstandable stress thereof are relatively small. Further the tensile strength of a reconstituted tobacco web is subject to considerable variation due to differences in the component materials, the moisture content, the density and other characteristics of the web, as well as to variations caused by manufacturing difficulties in controlling the uniformity of the product.

As a result of the foregoing and other factors in determining the permissible stress applied to the web, it has been found desirable to apply a considerable factor of amass Patented Sept. 20, 1966 safety. This obviously limits the maximum quantity of reconstituted tobacco which is wound onto a reel to serve as a source for cigar wrappers or binders, and this in turn limits the duration of the interval during which a machine may be operated before it is required to be stopped, while a new supply is mounted on the reel, threaded through the feed rollers, and the machine is set in the proper phase of its cycle for restarting. This machine downtime as it is called, is of some economic significance in the highly competitive cigar industry in which profits tend to be marginal.

In spite of the practice of attempting to limit the tension applied to the web to a quite low safe fraction of its tensile strength, there is nevertheless an undesirably large incidence of breakage of the web. As is generally appreciated, the web when applied to a die, to cut a cigar binder or wrapper must be smooth and unwrinkled throughout its entire area. Meeting this requirement while operating at a safe limit of applied tension is difficult. Reducing the incidence of web breakage and applying the tobacco web material to the die so that it is smooth and unwrinkled has been an objective of cigar machine designers since tobacco web feeds were first introduced.

In most tobacco web feed machines, a travelling suction feed carriage coacts with the web feed rollers in drawing the W613 to a position overlying the die. With the objective on minimizing wrinkling, one method widely used in the industry is to operate the travelling suction head carriage at a slightly faster speed than the Web feed rollers. In the present invention, the rate of speed of operation of the web feed rollers is controlled so that it is very low and increases very gradually at the start of the feeding period and reduces gradually at the end before stopping.

When the web feed is operated in this way it has been found that the suction feed carriage and the web feed rollers may be operated at the same rate of speed. This also contributes to a reduction in wrinkling, straining and tearing of the web.

A feature of the invention is a web feed speed control which effects more gradual starting and stopping than heretofore.

In the present invention, before cutting off a portion of Web from its leading end and feeding it to the wrapper die, the web is first drawn off the reel and its leading end is deposited on a leading one of three, fixed lower suction heads. The leading lower suction head is adjacent the cigar wrapper cutting die. The center and rear lower section heads cooperate with the leading lower suction head in holding the web taut in the proper position to be later fed to the die without excessive tension and with no stretching. Cutting means, in the present instance, a scissor type cut-off knife, is located between the middle and rear lower suction heads which holds the web taut during the cutting operation. After the leading end has been severed, it is picked up on the next feeding cycle and advanced by the travelling suction head to a position over the die, while the leading end of the uncut web is advanced simultaneously to a position adjacent the die.

The invention may be understood from the following description when read with reference to the associated drawings, which taken together disclose a preferred embodiment in which the invention is presently incorporated. It is to be understood, however, that the invention may be incorporated in other embodiments which may be suggested to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the upper portion of the web feed mechanism shown in conjunction with a cut-off device and suction transporting mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the upper portion of the web feed mechanism;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the upper portion of the web feed mechanism, taken on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is an end elevation of the lower portion of the Web feed mechanism, illustrating the actuating and driving members of the same;

FIG. 4 is a plan view, partly in section, of the Web feed, cutting and transporting mechanism;

FIG. 5 is an end elevation of the web cutting mechanism, partly in section, taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view, partly in section, of the reciprocating suction web transporting mechanism;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the stationary web supporting and cutting mechanism, and

FIG. 8 is an end elevation, partly in section of the reciprocating web transporting mechanism shown in conjunction with the stationary supporting table, taken on line 88 of FIG. 1.

Certain of the mechanisms employed in the machine of the present invention are Well known in the art. Reference will be made herein to patents disclosing them and the mechanisms will be described herein only insofar as is necessary to an understanding of the manner in which they cooperate With what is new in the present machine. The patents are 2,846,010, H. H. Wheeler, Aug. 5, 1958; 2,933,003, H. H. Wheeler et al., Apr. 9, 1960; 3,016,779, S. T. Gustavson et al., Ian. 16, 1962; 3,036,- 579, T. A. Godfrey, May 27, 1962; and patent application Serial No. 57,779, T. A. Godfrey, filed Sept. 22, 1960; now Patent No. 3,152,479.

Refer now to FIGS. 1-8.

The machine comprises a base 20 which is part of the base of the coacting cigar machine, not shown, of which the web feed mechanism of the present invention forms a part. Secured to the base is a bracket 22, which has two spaced vertical arms 24 and 26 between which are mounted the upper web feed roller 28 and the lower web feed roller 30, to be described more in detail hereinafter. Surmounting the bracket 22, and secured to it by means, such as screws 32 and 34, is the web reel mounting bracket 36. Rotatably mounted in bracket 36 is a flanged hub 38 which carries a reel of reconstituted tobacco 40. The reel structure is provided with special braking mechanism, indicated generally as 42, which is an important part of the present invention and which will be described in detail hereinafter. Its function is to regulate the acceleration imparted to the tobacco material particularly when withdrawal of the material is started, at the beginning of each feeding cycle, to prevent tearing of the web due to excessive tension. Supplementing the braking mechanism 42 to cooperate in controlling the tension to insure smooth withdrawal of the reconstituted material to minimize wrinkling of the material under tension is a so-called dancer roller and associated apparatus, indicated generally as 44. And associated with the Web mounting structure is a reconstituted Web depletion alarm, indicated generally by 46. The dancer mechanism 44 and the alarm mechanism 46 will both be described in detail hereinafter also.

Coacting with the web feed rollers 28 and 30 in transporting the web is a travelling suction carriage generally indicated as 4-8. Both the coasting web feed rollers 28 and 3t) and the travelling suction head 48 are driven by sector gear 50 which is fixed to a shaft 52 provided with a fixed arm 54 which is pivotally connected at 56 to the upper end Ofan adjustable tie rod 58. At its lower end, as shown in FIG. 3A, tie rod 58 connects to the left hand end of a lever 60 which is pivotally connected to a shaft 62 fixed in bracket 64 which is secured to the under side of plate 20 by means of bolts such as 66 and 68. Lever 64) is provided with a follower 70 which engages in a cam track 72 of a cam 74. Cam 74 is keyed to rotating shaft 76 which is driven by means, not shown, from the main shaft of the cigar machine. As shaft 76 rotates, carrying cam 74 and cam track 72, follower 70 is rotated in a limited are about shaft 62. Tie rod 58 actuates arm 54 rotating sector gear 50. Sector gear 50 engages with a gear 80 freely rotatable on shaft 82 to which the lower web feed roller 30 is secured. Shaft 32 is operatively connected to gear 80 through a one-way clutch 84 which may be of any of a number well known in the art. Shaft 82 carrying lower feed roller 30 is thus driven intermittently in a direction to tend to feed the Web of reconstituted tobacco toward the right, as seen in FIG. 1. A gear 86 is keyed to shaft 82 to which the lower web feed roller 30 is secured. Gear 86 meshes with gear 88 which is keyed to a sleeve 90 to which is also secured the upper feed roller 28. Sleeve 90 is rotatably supported by a shaft 94. The upper feed roller is provided at each of its ends with eccentric means such as 96 and a lever 98 by means of which the upper web feed roller 28 may be lifted out of engagement With the lower web feed roller 30 to permit the threading of the web therebetween at the start of operations. As sector gear 50 is actuated and lower web feed roller 30 is responsively driven, gear 86 drives upper web feed roller 28 through gear 88. The two rollers 28 and 30 are so spaced that they frictionally engage the Web in their nip and drive it forward intermittently as one-Way clutch 84 is driven.

A gear 1041 is pinned to shaft 102 which is freely rotatable in a bearing 104 secured to bracket 36. The gear engages with gear 106 which is pinned to shaft 108 secured in bearing 110 fixed in bracket 36. Sprocket 112 is pinned to shaft 108. Chain 114 is driven by sprocket 112. Chain 114 at its right hand end. as seen in FIG. 1, is supported by sprocket 116 which is mounted on shaft 118 secured in bracket 126 which is bolted by bolts such as 122 and 124 to the frame 20. As the sector gear 50 is actuated in a direction to feed the tobacco web forwardly, it drives gear 100, gear 106, sprocket 112 and chain 114 so that the lower run of the chain moves from left to right, as seen in FIG. 1, driving the travelling suction head mechanism 48, which is secured to the chain, with it. Travelling suction head 48 is supported for hori- Zontal recpirocating motion on shafts and 132 which are secured at their left hand ends, as seen in FIG. 1, in reel support bracket 36 and at their right hand end in bracket 120. This will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The length of the are through which sector gear 50' is rotated may be adjusted by connecting the upper end of tie rod 58 in any one of three positions in arm 54, as indicated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Thus tie rod 58 may be moved from the position shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 to be secured in bearings 126 and 128 of rod 54. Tie rod 58, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, is connected to rod 54 in such manner as to actuate sector gear 50 through its longest arcuate travel thus imparting the Web feed rollers 28 and 30 and coacting carriage 48 their longest length of feed. Connections to hubs 126 and 128 will obviously reduce the length of web feed.

Secured to the base 20 is a vertical bracket 134, FIG. 1. Mounted between bracket 134 and bracket 24, by bolts 136, 138, and 142 is a plate 144 having an elongated slot 146 therein. A lower center suction head 148 is mounted on the upper portion of a bracket 150. The lower portion of bracket 150 is secured by a bolt 152 which passes through elongated slot 146. Lower suction head 148 may be adjustably fixed in any desired longitudinal position throughout a range, as required for wrappers of different lengths, by loosening bolt 152 and sliding bracket 150 to the desired position. forward end of suction head 148, as seen in FIG. 7, by

Secured to the means of bracket 154 and bolt 156 is lower lead suction head 158. Bracket 154 is provided with an elongated slot, 157, to permit the lower lead suction head to be adjusted in position. Secured in slot 146 also by means of bolts 160 and 162 is a bracket 164, to the upper portion of which is mounted the lower rear suction head 166. This assembly also may be adjusted longitudinally by loosening the bolts 160 and 162 and sliding bracket 164 into the desired position.

Refer now to FIGS. 1, 3A and 5. Closely adjacent the right hand side of lower rear suction head 166, as shown in FIG. 1, is the cutting means generally indicated by 168. The cutting means employed in the present embodiment is a mechanical scissors actuated by a cam driven linkage. The cam 178 mounted on main shaft 76 rotates with the shaft, actuating follower 172 secured in lever 174 which is rotatable in a limited are about shaft 62. Tie rod 176 is pivoted at its lower end to lever 174 and at its upper end, as best seen in FIG. 5, to lever 178. The left hand end of lever 178 is secured to bar 180 in a manner to permit rapid longitudinal adjustment of the cutting means for wrappers of different length. Bar 180, as shown in FIG. 5, is square in cross section with one diagonal vertical. Lever 178 has a coacting lug 182. The left hand ends of lever 178 and of lug 184 are shaped to cooperatively embrace bar 188. The right hand end of lug 182 has a knob projection on its upper edge which engages the under edge of lever 178 so as to provide a space between the two edges. A bolt 184 passes edgewise through lever 178 and lug 182 bridging the space between them and drawing the two elements closely together and fastening lever 1'78 tightly to bar 181). The lower end of tie rod 186 is pivoted to lever 178, intermediate the ends of the lever. The upper end of tie rod 186 is pivoted to the right end of lever 188, which is pivoted at 191 to a bracket 192 rotatable in hub 322 integral with sliding bracket 164 to permit rotation of the knife mechanism. This will be described more fully hereinafter. The left hand end 189 of lever 188 carries a pair of spaced rollers, such as 194, each of which engages in a respective slot between bifurcations in an extension plate fastened on each of scissor blades 196 and 198, which are pivoted about element 199 fastened to a frame bracket. Extension plate 288 is secured to blade 196 by means of bolts, such as 202, and the tines of its bifurcations are separated by slot 284. Blade 198 is correspondingly equipped. As the left-hand of lever 189 moves downwardly, it rotates extension plate 200 and blade 196 clockwise about element 199 and simultaneously rotates extension 206 and blade 198 counter-clockwise to sever the tobacco web therebetween. The scissors are adjustable for widths of web throughout a range. The knife is opened by positive cam action but is closed by the action of spring 173 to minimize danger and damage.

The horizontally reciprocable mechanism, generally indicated by 48, which picks up the web and carries it forward and returns to its supporting position during each cycle comprises three elements secured to a carriage. Two of these elements are the upper front and rear suction heads. The third element is not arranged to apply suction to the web but serves as a means for supplying suction from a central tube to the upper front and rear suction boxes. This may be seen from reference to FIG. 6. The upper front suction box 210 is shown at the right of the figure. The central element 212 supports a main suction tube 218. The rear, or trailing, suction head 214 is shown at the left. Suction is supplied from tube 218 through tube 226 to the upper front suction head 211) and suction is supplied through tube 222 to the rear suction head 214. Both the front and the rear suction heads 218 and 214 may be angularly adjusted with respect to the central line of feed 223 for the web. The front upper suction head 211 is connected to the central element 212 by means of a bracket 224. Bracket 224 is provided with an elongated slot 226. Screw 228 passes through slot 226 and engages in element 212. Screw 228 may be loosened to permit suction head 210 to be adjusted longitudinally. Suction head 218 is secured to bracket 224 by means of screw 230. Screw 238 may be loosened to permit the suction head to be adjusted angularly with respect to center line 223. The rear suction head 214 is connected to the carriage by means of bar 232 which connects to a lug 234 secured to the top of suction head 214. Suction head 214 may be adjusted longitudinally in bracket 236 of the carriage by means of screw 238 which may be loosened to permit bar 232 to slide to the right or left, as seen in FIG. 6. Suction head 214 may be adjusted angularly with respect to the center line 223 of the web feed by means of the screw 240 in bracket 234. The central element 212 of the upper suction head assembly is connected to the carriage by means of a bolt 242, as seen in FIG. 8. The bolt is biased upwardly by means of a spring 244, the lower portion of which engages a sleeve 246 surrounding the lower portion of the bolt and the upper portion of which engages the surface of a collar of the bolt 248 so that the spring is constrained between the sleeve and the collar and the bolt is normally urged upwardly. The reason for this will. be made clear hereinafter.

In addition to their horizontal reciprocable motions, the upper suction heads are provided with means whereby their positions may be vertically adjusted relative to the coacting lower suction elements and the wrapper cutting die at proper times in the cycle so as to effect transfer of the web smoothly when required. This is performed by two different elevator mechanisms operating at different times. One of these mechanisms is effective to control the forward suction box 210 by lowering it when the web is to be transferred from the leading upper suction head to the die 250. The other is effective to depress the upper rear suction head 214 at a proper time in the cycle to transfer the leading end of the web after a section has been severed therefrom.

The elevator mechanism which controls the raising and lowering of the leading upper suction box comprises another cam secured to and rotatable with shaft 76, FIG. 3A. The cam has a cam track 260 therein. The cam track 260 activates a roller 262 pivoted to a stud intermediate the ends of a lever 264, which lever, at its right hand end, as shown in FIG. 3A, is rotatable in a limited are about shaft 62. Pivoted near the left hand end of lever 264 is elevator tie rod 266. As best seen in FIG. I

8, the upper end of elevator tie rod 266 is secured in an elongated slot 268 in the right hand end of lever 270 which is fulcrumed on shaft 130. Reference to FIG. 1 shows that lever 270 carries the left hand end of bar 274, and arm 271 which is secured to bar 274 and shaft carries the right hand end of bar 274. When tie rod 266 is raised and lowered, due to the cam action, bar 274,

is responsively raised and lowered. Spaced toward the left from lever 270, along shaft 274, as seen in FIG. 2, is an arm 276 which is slidably pivoted to bar 274. Arm 276 is pivoted to lever 278 by pin 280. As shown in FIG. 8, the middle portion of lever 2781 is pivoted to stud 282 and its left hand forked end engages bolt 242 near its upper end. When elevator tie rod 266 is raised, it raises the right hand end of lever 270, about shaft 130 as a pivot, raising shaft 274. Shaft 274 raises arm 276 carrying stud 280. This raises the right hand end of lever 278 which pivots about stud 282 depressing the left hand end of lever 278, depressing bolt 242 against the action of spring 244 which is thereby compressed. Bolt 242 lowers the control upper members 212 of the travelling assembly. This, in turn, lowers the upper leading suction head 210, FIG. 6, which, as described, is carried by central member 212 through bracket 224. When the rod 266 is lowered the reverse action takes place, raising upper middle member 212 and leading upper suc- 7 tion head 210. The function of spring 244 is to smoothen the operation and to take up backlash.

Mounted to shaft 130, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, for longitudinal slidable adjustment thereon is a block 290 carrying a projecting tongue 292. The position of these elements is adjustable in correlation with the length of the wrapper for which the machine is set, to permit the upper rear suction head to be controlled by its associated elevator mechanism so as to coact properly at predetermined points in the machine cycle with the underlying lower rear suction head. Block 290 and tongue 292 are pinned in the desired position to shaft 130. The upper portion of the reciprocable carriage housing 294 as seen in FIG. 2, carries a vertically displaceable bent bar 296, shaped to engage tongue 292. When the carriage moves bar 296 into proper position, fixed tongue 292 lifts bar 296 upon engagement therewith. The bar 296, as shown in FIG. 8, is provided with an elongated slot 298. A bolt 300 projects through slot 298 to engage in lever 278. The lower horizontal portion of plate 296 is connected by means of link 301 intermediate the ends of a bell crank lever 302 which is pivoted to a stud 304 carried by the lower portions of carriage housing 294. The left hand end of the horizontal arm of bell crank 302 is bifurcated, and the tynes of the bifurcations straddle a vertical stud 306 which is secured to the lower portion of carriage 294. Encircling stud 306 is a coiled spring 307 which is constrained between a nut 308 on the upper portion of stud 306 and the horizontal arm of bell crank 302 which is supported at the limit of its anticlockwise movement by a boss 310 at the lower extremity of stud 306. Bell crank 302 is then normally urged in a counter-clockwise direction by the spring on stud 306. Plate 296 responsively is normally activated to its lowermost position. The lower end of vertical arm of bell crank 302, as shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 8 is provided with a hub 236, in which bent bar 232 is slidably mounted and may be fixed in adjusted position by screw 238 which spans a vertical saw cut 239, and draws the left and right halves of hub 236 together, as seen in FIG. 8 to lock bent bar 232 in position. The right end of bar 232, as seen in FIG. 2, and as better shown at the left in FIG. 6, carries the upper trailing suction head 214.

As shown in FIG. 2, when bent bar 296 engages fixed pin 292, bar 296 is raised, raising link 30]., rotating the horizontal bell crank 302 in a clockwise direction, about pivot 304, against the compression of spring 307. This has the effect of lowering bent rod 232 carrying the lower surface of upper trailing suction head 214 into close proximity to the upper surface of the underlying suction head with which it coacts.

At the start of the operations, with the carriage near its rear position, the web is drawn forward manually until its leading edge overlies the lower rear suction head. The machine is started with the carriage standing in position near the end of its rear traverse and in condition to move toward its rearmost position. At this time the various suction controls, not shown herein, but well known in the art, are in such position that suction is removed from the lower rear, middle and leading suction heads, which are controlled at all times in unison, and is applied to the upper rear and leading suction heads. On the first cycle, the transfer of suction to the upper lead suction heads is without avail. The elevator mechanism which controls the upper rear suction head actuates this head, as described in the foregoing, to a position immediately adjacent the tobacco web overly the lower rear suction head while the carriage dwells momentarily. Transfer of the leading end of the web is effected from the lower rear suction head to the travelling upper rear suction head and the leading end of the web is drawn forward by the cooperative action of the web feed rollers and the carriage until it overlies the lower leading suction head. Suction is cut off from the carriage, transferred to the lower web suction heads and the leading end of the web is transferred to the lower leading suction head. On this first cycle, the operation of the upper leading suction head and of the die mechanism is without effect as there is as yet no severed tobacco strip for them to operate on. The carriage now momentarily in its forwardmost position again dwells and the knife operates, as heretofore described, to sever a portion of tobacco web, suitable for a die serving, from the leading end of the web. The carriage returns toward the rear, while the suction remains removed therefrom. At the rearmost position of the carriage, the elevator which controls the upper rear suction head again operates as described herein. Suction is again removed from the three lower, or web plate, suction heads and applied to the two upper suction heads of the carriage. The upper leading suction head now picks up the leading end of the severed portion of the web. Simultaneously the upper rear suction head picks up the new leading end of the web and both are moved forward until the leading end of the severed portion overlies the die and the new leading end of the web overlies the lower leading web plate suction head. The elevator mechanism which controls the upper leading suction box now operates, as described, to lower this box until it is immediately adjacent the die. Suction is transferred from the suction boxes on the carriage to the die and to the die shell, surrounding the die, and the severed portion of the web is transferred to the die and the shell. At the same time the leading end of the web which has been drawn forward by the upper rear suction box is transferred therefrom to the lower leading suction box. The travelling suction heads again dwell momentarily in their forwardmost positions while the transfers are effected and the knife operates. The carriage then returns to the rear to start a new cycle.

In order to reduce the number of webs of tobacco material of different widths which must be manufactured and stocked so that dies of the many different cigar sizes required may be served advantageously, it is now the practice to make a web of a given width serve a number of dies of different sizes at different times by making the feed adjustable so as to sever different lengths from the leading end of the web. This is done by directing the web to a knife at an acute angle to the longitudinal center line of the web.

In tobacco web feed machines presently employed having knives adjustable in position with respect to the longitudinal center line, the knives are rotatable about a point near one of their ends. In the present arrangement the knife mechanism is made rotatable about its approximate center. This among other advantages effects a saving in the length of machine required.

It was mentioned in the foregoing that the upper and lower front and rear suction boxes were rotatable through an angle with respect to the longitudinal center line of the web. This angle may range up to 70. The knife mechanism must be correspondingly adjustable. To permit this the knife mechanism, as mentioned, is secured by means of knife stud element 199 which is secured in knife bracket 192.

The cylindrical lower end portion 320 of bracket 192 is provided with an axial boring through which tie rod 186 projects vertically. The end portion 320 is rotatably supported in a hub 322 integral with sliding bracket 164. It will be observed that with this arrangement the axis of rotation of the knife mechanism is near its center. This affords an advantage over prior arrangements in which the knife mechanism was rotatable about an axis near one of its ends. This obviously effects a saving in overall length of the web feed mechanism for the same knife adjustment.

In the foregoing it was mentioned that the various web feed reel controls would be explained later, FIGS. 1, 2

and 3 show that the reconsituted tobacco material 40 is drawn off the reel and passes first over a tension roller 340 which is rotatably mounted on a stud fixed in frame 3 6. From roller 340 the web material passes over a dancer roller 342 and then between the intermittently driven feed rollers 28 and 30. As seen best in FIGS. 2 and 3 dancer rollers 342 is rotatably mounted on a shaft pinned in a hub on the lower arm 344 of a lever which is limitedly rotatable on a pivot 346. The upper arm 34-8 of the lever has a hub 350, in which is pinned a springpost 352. A brake band 354 encircles a brake drum 3'56 on the reel. The two ends of brake band 854 are drawn together by an anchor 358 and connected to springpost 352.

Tension spring 360 is connected at one end to post 352 and at the other end to another springpost 362 which is adjustably mounted in an elongated slot 364 in an am 366 which is pinned to a stud 368 which is rotatalb-ly mounted in a bearing 330. At the right-hand end of stud 868, as shown in FIG. 3, there is mounted a device for continually sensing the diameter of the web material on the reel. It comprises a roller 3 70 mounted on a shaft 372 rota-tably mounted in opposed bearing on the upper end of two arms 374 and 375 extending upwardly from a hub 376 pinned to shaft 368. As the quantity of material 40 mounted on the reel decreases, roller 370 is continually urged into engagement with its cylindrical surface by spring 360, which rotates arms B66 and arms 374 and 375 with roller 370 counter clockwise as seen in FIG. 2. Pinned to shaft 368 also is an arm .380. As the quantity of material on the reel nears exhaustion, arm 380, which also has been rotating counter clockwise in a limited arc, engages switch arm 3 82 of micro switch 384 which actuates an alarm, not shown, to indicate the condition.

It will be observed that the web in passing from the reel to the feed rollers is carried by an idler roller and a dancer roller. The dancer roller, as shown, is mounted pivotally on an arm, whose rearward extension is spring loaded against the web tension. Attention is also called to the fact that the two ends of the reel brake band are attached to the same arm.

It should be observed also that, in the present invention, in order to modulate the required spring force of the reel lbrake, incident to the decreasing diameter of the real, one end of the spring is secured to a lever which turns with a second lever, the rotation of which is responsive to the decreasing diameter of the web on the reel as material is withdrawn therefrom. The change in motion of the second lever corresponds closely to the change in torque force of the web reel. As a result of this the stress applied to the web throughout the interval during which the reel is paid out is substantially uniform.

Applicant has found that one of the impontant reasons for the tearing of the web, in machines subject to this difiiculty, is that the tangential force applied to the web at the start of each feed cycle is beyond the elastic limit of the reconstituted material. Applicant has found also that if a maximum 100 grams tension per inch of web width is not exceeded, there will be no tearing of the web and the other requirements will be met. Further applicant uses a dancer roller specially arranged to unlbrake the reel at the start of the feed cycle and to aid in stopping the reel smoothly.

The diameter of the web may range for instance, from 14 inches when full, to 3 inches when empty, and the maximum length of wrapper, and therefore of travel of the web during each feed cycle, may be 15 inches, for instance. With these as assumptions we have these further considerations.

The tension force of 100 grams per inch of web width is required to do three things, in sequence, as follows:

(1) Move the dancer roller from braking to unbraking position;

(2) Impart a torque to the reel to overcome its rotational inertia;

(3) Release the dancer roller during the latter half of the feed cycle, the deceleration period, to apply a braking force in proportion to the web tension decrease, to resume braking.

The web feed cam employed herein is arranged to produce a maximum acceleration, A expressed in feet per second per second as lma.- R =2.7 feet/sec.

where H=rise of mass=l5 inches=l.25 feet.

N 14 revolutions per minute of the cam.

R=angular movement of cam during stroke, which is 144 degrees, expressed in radians,

144W m 2.5 radians The corresponding angular acceleration, alpha, expressed in radians per second, per second, is

alpha X 271' =4.6 radian/sec.

For a body in accelerated rotary motion the torque force is expressed as G=I alpha where I is the inertia of the reel, and alpha is the acceleration in radians/sec The expression for the inertia of a reel of reconstituted tobacco 14 inches in diameter, or radius r:7 inches, and 2 inches wide, having a weight of 9 pounds, and in which g is the acceleration due to gravity, 32 feet per second, per second, is

1 9 49 a e- E =0.57 inch pounds/see. G=0.57 4.6=2.6 inch pounds.

With a reel 14 inches in diameter the moment arm is the radius of 7 inches. The tangential force "FF is equal to the force G divided by the length of arm or 7 =0.37 pounds :452 (grams per pound) times 0.37 :167 grams Since the 167 grams is applied to a web 2 inches in Width, the tension per inch of width is half of 167 grams or 83.5 grams. This is less than the grams tension found by applicant to meet the other requirements while preventing tearing.

The present invention teaches that, in order to prevent tearing, the tension applied to the web and its acceleration should be relatively low and uniform. The speed of with drawal, and the rate of web travel, is not the same for each unit of time.

In further consideration of the need for low tension in the web, the cam 260, FIG. 3A, which controls the web feed, is so designed as to first move the dancer roller sufiiciently to unbrake the reel and only thereafter to begin the above described slow acceleration of the web reel. Therefore the reel rotation during the first few hundredths of a second, when the incidence of tearing has heretofore been greatest, is almost imperceptible.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigar web "feed machine having a reel mounting a web of tobacco material, a lever having a first end, a second end and a pivot intermediate said ends, a roller mounted on said lever near said first end, means for di Ill recting said web around a portion of the surface of said roller, a brake band on said reel, said band having an end connected to said second end, means for sensing the diameter of said web of material, and a tension spring having a first end connected to both said second end of said lever and to said end of said band and a second end connected to said sensing means.

2. The machine according to claim 1 including means for unwinding said web from said reel and means connected to said unwinding means for selectively controlling tension on said brake band and tension on said web through said lever.

3. The machine according to claim 2 wherein said means for selectively controlling tension on said brake band comprises a cam drivingly connected to said means for unwinding said web, and cam follower means connected to said lever, said cam and cam follower means being formed so as to cause release of said brake upon starting of said unwinding means and to cause engaging of said brake on stopping of said unwinding means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/02 Wesselman 83-604 6/ 0 7 Gerlach "83-604 9/ 3 3 Anderson 24-2-75 .45 7/49 B onebrake 226-3 3 11/53 Price et a1 226-95 5 5 S Oliphant 226-122 7/56 Anander 226-95 11/59 Logan 226-112 1/60 Burn 2-26-11 3/ 64- Dodsworth 226-11 OTHER REFERENCES Machine Design, vol. 34(8), p.137, Mar. 29, 1962.

ROBERT E. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM W. DYERS, IR., Examiner.

20 J. M. MEISTER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CIGAR WEB FEED MACHINE HAVING A REEL MOUNTING A WEB OF TOBACCO MATERIAL, A LEVER HAVING A FIRST END, A SECOND END AND A PIVOT INTERMEDIATE SAID ENDS, A ROLLER MOUNTED ON SAID LEVER NEAR SAID FIRST END, MEANS FOR DIRECTING SAID WEB AROUND A PORTION OF THE SURFACE OF SAID ROLLER, A BRAKE BAND ON SAID REEL, SAID BAND HAVING AN END CONNECTED TO SAID SECOND END, MEANS FOR SENSING THE DIAMETER OF SAID WEB OF MATERIAL, AND A TENSION SPRING HAVING A FIRST END CONNECTED TO BOTH SAID SECOND END OF SAID LEVER AND TO SAID END OF SAID BAND AND A SECOND END CONNECTED TO SAID SENSING MEANS. 